


Keeping Secrets

by imimmortalagain



Series: Love: The Right Word To Describe It [3]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Cute, Dating, F/F, Fluff, Love, Secret Relationship, Sneaking Around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-07-02 09:39:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15793905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imimmortalagain/pseuds/imimmortalagain
Summary: This is the third story, picking up exactly where I left off in the last story "All I know is that I... I love you.".It follows Seven and Kathryn's [secret] relationship and whether or not they can keep it from their friends.





	1. Chapter 1

As it normally is on a ship, rumors spread at Warp 10. It’s been only a week. A single week since Seven and Kathryn had gotten back together, yet it was all the crew could talk about.

“I bet,” Tom said to the rest of the senior staff, minus Kathryn and Seven, “Kathryn takes Seven on tours through San Francisco on the holodeck.”

“Kathryn’s not like that,” Chakotay shakes his head, “No, no, I guarantee she makes dinner, full with roses and slow dancing.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Tom countered, “Seven asked me months ago about the proper attire for the cold in the 21st century.”

B’Elanna scoffed, “And we’re  _ not _  stranded in the Delta Quadrant.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you don’t exactly have the best dress sense in the world,” B’Elanna replied, “No. Don’t you all think that they spend an awful lot of time in their velocity matches? Last I remember Velocity doesn’t last that long…”

“B’Elanna!” Harry said, “She’s our Captain, she’s like our mother!” His eyes widened, “I don’t need to be hearing this…”

“Hearing what, Harry?” Kathryn asks, walking in with Seven in tow.

“Nothing, ma’am,” He spat out, he gave a direct look over at B’Elanna and Chakotay.

Chakotay gave a short smile but looked up to Kathryn, “Are you going to join us tonight? Neelix is hosting a talent show.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m busy tonight, maybe some other night?”

“Seven?”

“I have to work tonight.”

“I’m sure that I can work something out,” Chakotay replied, giving Seven a smile.

“I have extra work that I need to catch up on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to reschedule.”

 

“Are you sure?” Seven asked as the walked onto the holodeck later that night.

“Come on. I’m sure. There is no way in the universe that they could know. I mean come on. We aren’t publicly affectionate. They couldn’t know,” Kathryn shook her head, “Now stop worrying. I have the perfect idea for a date, you’re going to love this.”

They walked into an art studio with two huge canvas opposite of each other. In buckets on the floor were balloons filled with paint.

Seven quirked an eyebrow, “What is this?”

“Our date,” Kathryn smiled as she walked over a coat rack on the side of the studio. On it was two thin plastic ponchos. She pulled one off the rack and pulled it over her head, motioning with her hand for Seven to do the same.

“Obviously, what I meant was what are we doing with the canvas’ and paint?”

“You’ll see.” Kathryn smiled before walking in front of one of the canvas’. Seven did the same.

Kathryn bent down and picked up one of the paint balloons. She smiled at Seven before throwing the balloon at Seven. The balloon broke and splattered blue paint everywhere.

Seven wiped off her face and gave looked over at Kathryn.

“Kathryn?” She was shocked.

Kathryn chuckled, “Yes?”

“Why did you throw a balloon filled with paint at me? I don-” She was cut off when Kathryn threw another paint balloon, but it missed and splattered orange all over the place. Seven seemed to get the idea, she leaned down and picked up a balloon as well. She sent it flying.

It hit Kathryn in the chest and splattered red paint everywhere. Kathryn smiled and picked up another balloon sending it flying.

They spent nearly their entire holodeck time throwing balloons and painting those canvas’.

“The canvas and the paint are real,” Kathryn explained, “All we need to do is take home, but… it would be highly conspicuous to carry this home.”

“It would be conspicuous to have paint on our faces.”

“I made sure to program a shower in the next room, we’ll be fine, it’s the canvas’ we need to worry about…”

“We could store it in the empty crew quarters across the hall until we figure out what to do with it.”

“Still, what if people see us?”

“Leonardo da Vinci.”

“Hmm?”

“We could say that we were just painting with da Vinci.”

“The paintings aren’t in his style.”

“Hmm… We face the paintings towards the wall.”

“I guess that we could carry them to our quarters with that excuse, now come on. I need a shower and so do you.”

Kathryn took Seven by the hand and led her into the next room. It was an old-fashioned shower that actually used water instead of sonic waves and it was big enough for the both of them.

After a particularly relaxing shower, they carried one canvas to the cargo bay and one canvas to Kathryn’s quarters.

“Thanks,” Kathryn said with a smile to Seven after they set the canvas down.

“You don’t have to thank me.”  

Kathryn smiled and walked up to Seven, wrapping her arms around Seven’s waist. The corner of Seven’s lips quirked up slightly.

Seven leaned down and placed a kiss on Kathryn’s lips before pulling back away. Kathryn reached up to Seven’s neck and pulled her back down for a kiss. They felt sparks fly.

Kathryn pulled away, taking in deep breaths and leading Seven by the hand to the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

It all had happened so fast. Too fast. And as Kathryn sat she tried to recount the events that brought them here, she couldn’t help but pace around her ready room, staring out the stars. She tried standing still, tapping her foot, but she had too much energy and couldn’t stand still. 

It had started about an hour or so before.

 

Kathryn sat in her ready room, reading over a PADD. It was from Icheb, an essay for the over the history of Starfleet. She was deep in it when her combadge chirped. 

She had half expected it to be Seven calling to ask about their date tonight. So she was caught off guard when Harry started talking,  _ “Captain, we need you on the bridge.”  _

“Can Chakotay handle it?”

“ _ No, Ma’am.”  _ Kathryn sighed when he said ma’am, figuring that it must be something of importance if he said ma’am instead of captain.

“What is it?”

_ “We’re receiving a hail from an unknown vessel.” _

“On my way.” She set down the PADD and straightened out her shirt with a sigh. She walked out of her ready room and took a seat in her captain’s chair. 

“Do we know where the hail is coming from?” She asked when she was comfortable. 

“Not yet, they seemed to be cloaked,” Harry said.

“Are they still hailing?”

“Yes, Captain.” 

“Put it on screen.” She stood up and stepped forward. She pulled down on the front of her uniform and put on her best smile waiting for the screen to light up with the ones who hailed. But nothing flashed on the screen.  

She turned back to face Ops, “Harry?” 

“It’s not… I put it-” He was interrupted by a flash of light as a group of aliens appeared on the bridge. Tuvok had pulled out his phaser and Kathryn had opened her mouth to say something but all of the systems fell dead and the lights went out. There was no light in the entire room, even the screen was dead black.

Kathryn stumbled backward until she had felt the wall against her back. She pulled out her phaser and aimed it into the darkness, even though it wouldn’t have helped a thing. She heard someone scream and another person make a noise close to a grunt.

“What’s going on?” She asked, waving her arms around hoping to run into someone. She heard something make a weird noise that got closer and closer. 

“I think… something’s moving in front of us,” Tom said. 

No one else gave Kathryn a verbal response, but she could hear more grunting. 

It sounded as if another person tried to talk but their voice was muffled. She crossed her fingers, let out a shaky breath and aimed her phaser towards the ceiling and shot it. It lit up just enough of the room for her to see the alien right in front of her. She quickly aimed for him, but he removed the phaser from her. She jumped to the side, but it was too late, someone had grabbed a hold of her shoulder. She tried elbowing it but it did no good. She threw a couple of punches, but it did nothing, the alien stayed strong next to. She felt him shuffle around and he grabbed something from his belt. 

It was a small device that whirred. He waved that in front of her face, it let off just enough light for her to see that it was in the shape of a box. 

He put it away before he let go of her. 

He made a rasping noise, as the other intruders chimed in with the same rasping noise. One last rasp and there was a flash of light before all of the electronic systems turned back on. 

Kathryn let out deep breaths, looking around and taking inventory of everyone to make sure that they were all fine. Harry was backed against the wall, Tuvok was standing away from his station and down next to Chakotay, who was laying on the floor. Tom was against the screen, just a couple of feet away from her. 

She took a moment to calm down before walking towards Chakotay, holding out a hand for him to take. He smiled, but stood up without help as Kathryn started giving out commands, 

“Tuvok, check in with the other decks. Harry, track them. Tom and Chakotay, you both need to make sure all systems are back online.

_ “Torres to the Captain,” _ B’Elanna said through Kathryn’s combadge.

“Janeway here.” 

_ “Captain, Seven’s missing.”  _

Kathryn’s hearted leaped up to her throat as she repeated the last word she heard, “Missing?” 

_ “She was next to me when those… aliens appeared and the systems shut off, but when they came back on the aliens and Seven were gone.” _

Kathryn froze. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. 

“Captain?” Chakotay said he had stood up and walked closer to her. 

She shook her head, “Um… Computer, locate Seven of Nine.” 

“Seven of Nine is not on  _ Voyager _ .” 

Kathryn didn’t know what to do, well the level side of her did, but she wasn’t thinking with the level side of her head. Her mind was in a constant loop, a continual repetition of one thing “Seven”.

“Kathryn?” Chakotay asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“Find. That. Vessel.,” She emphasized each and every syllable that passed through her lips, hatred, and anger spilling out from her. 

She stormed off to her ready room. She had tried to pick up her PADD from where she left off but couldn’t. She wasn’t able to focus. 

She drummed her fingers against the desk listening to the sound of her fingernails on the desk. She sighed, before getting too restless.

She jumped to her feet, pacing back and forth, staring out the window as she tried to recount everything that just happened. 

 

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter was late, I had show week with my theatre department and I got behind but here you guys go, I'm back to the regular schedule.

Kathryn couldn’t help the shaking in her hand as she paced the ready room. Worried tears slipped down her cheeks even though she tried so hard to keep them.

After what happened with her cortical implant, Kathryn couldn’t be away from Seven, let alone in a different ship with her life on the line. She couldn’t loose Seven. She couldn’t imagine never holding Seven again, never pulling her in close by the waist, never dancing together with her arms around her neck, never sleeping together again. She couldn’t stand the thought of it.

She let out the breath that expanded her worry-filled stomach and wiped away the tears. With one last deep breath, she turned away from the path she wore into the floor towards the door to the bridge. With nervous steps, she made her way there calmly reviving her captain’s face.

Kathryn stepped forward and walked back onto the bridge her composure almost magically regained. Without a word she sat in her captain’s seat, “Have you found their trail?” She asked Harry, her voice was hard set with determination. She was shocked that it wasn’t shaky at all. 

“Yes, captain.”

“We’ve started following them,” Tom jumped in. 

“Good.” She let out a silent sigh of relief before turning to Chakotay, “I need you to gather the senior staff, we need a meeting and a plan, 10 minutes.” 

“Yes, captain,” He replied with a nod.

 

Kathryn drummed her fingers on the table, making eye contact with each member of her senior staff, “We need a strategy. Some plan to help us when we get to their ship, so we can rescue Seven. Any idea is welcome.”

Each member of staff felt the weight of the responsibility, looking around at the others for someone to diffuse that responsibility to.

“Captain, I think I may have a solution,” Tuvok spoke up after some time of silence, “It seems that their communication system acts as a transporter system. If we hail them and access their systems we could potentially beam Seven over safely. However, while transporting they would still have access to their transporter and-”

“-And that could be disastrous for Seven,” Kathryn jumped in, wanting to say the words herself so that she fully understood the cost of a mistake.

“B’Elanna,” She said after a sigh, “Do you think you would be capable of gaining access to their system?” Kathryn asked.

B’Elanna winced before letting out a tense breath, “It wouldn’t be easy but I think I could handle it.” 

“Would you be able to lock them out?” 

“Maybe.” 

“Tuvok, do you think you could help with that?” 

“Yes, captain.” 

“Then we have a-”

_ “Captain Janeway?”  _ Kathryn’s combadge called out, it was one of the ensign’s manning the bridge.

“Yes, ensign Gesato?”

_ “We just found the end of their trail, there’s nothing here, captain.”  _

“I’m on my way to the bridge, Janeway out.” 

 

Kathryn took a seat, drumming her fingers on the armrest, as the rest of her senior staffed filed onto the bridge, taking their positions as well.  

Kathryn gave Harry a second to get ops up and running before turning around, raising an eyebrow and asking, “What’s going on?” 

“I think… they projected fake warp trails, if I,” He paused for a bit, furiously typing away at ops, “Yeah, here it is, this is the real trail,” Harry said with a sigh of relief. 

“Good,” Kathryn said curtly, letting out a sigh. She turned to Chakotay, “I’ll be in my ready room.” 

She stood up and walked briskly to her ready room. Chakotay could feel her tensions in the air as if it were something to touch. 

With a sigh, he stood up and followed after her. He paused at the door of the ready room, “Tuvok, you’ve got the bridge.” He took a step forward walking into the ready room.

Kathryn was standing at the window her arms crossed, her eyes damp. She heard the door open, but she didn’t react. Her eyes focusing on the streaking stars out the window. 

She could tell it was Chakotay. By the way, he didn’t introduce himself because they were close enough, by the sound of his footsteps and by the way he didn’t say anything when he finally reached her. He knew her well enough to know that silence is what she needed.

“We’re going to get her back,” Chakotay said gently after some time, “She’s going to be fine.”

Kathryn smiled small and sad, but still couldn’t tear her eyes away from the stars. 

“I’ll leave you alone,” He said after some time. She listened as his footsteps receded and sighed as the door swished open then shut.

Kathryn didn’t know what to do, but that was partly by choice. Part of her wanted to visit cargo bay 2 and sit there, but she knew it wouldn’t help. Part of her just wanted to cry, but that wasn’t helping her either. The last part of her didn’t know what to do and she figured that that part was the most reliable, it didn’t directly lead to pain. She chose to be left in indecision, it was better than choosing something that would break her down.

After some time she was able to tear her eyes away from the stars and make her way to her desk. She collapsed in the chair and rested her head on the desk. 

She couldn’t do anything else. Being on the bridge wouldn’t help B’Elanna get ready to access their systems, or make Tom go any faster. And God knows if they’re sitting in silence on that bridge she might lose her perfect Captain’s facade. 

 

It was about an hour until they were close enough for Kathryn to read her ready room. 

She stood up, wiping off her cheeks, pulling the hem of her uniform to straighten it out. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before opening them. With a swift pace, she moved from behind the desk to the bridge.

“How long, Tom?” Kathryn said. She didn’t bother with sitting in the captain’s seat. She was too nervous to be able to sit down and stay calm. 

“We’re here now,” He replied. 

“Good, bring us out of warp.”

“Yes, captain.” The stars on the screen faded away and in front of them were two ships.  
“Shields up,” Kathryn said, she turned to back to ops, “Harry, which one is the one that Seven is on?” 

“Um,” He said, hesitantly, he tapped the screen a few times, “Only one has shields down and they don’t have Seven.”

“Are they the ones who took Seven?” 

Harry tapped a few more things, “From what I can see, I think so.” 

Kathryn sighed and turned back to the screen, just in time to see the ship that attacked them earlier disappear. 

“Their leaving,” Harry cleared up.

“Hail the other ship.” 

“Yes, captain,” Harry said, before turning his attention back to the screen in front of them. Within seconds the screen lit up with the face of an alien. They were different than the ones that had taken Seven. 

“Hello, I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.”

“What do you want?” He asked, obviously already bored.

“We,” She looked to Chakotay with wide eyes, “Are…”

“Looking for to trade to help us better travel through this territory,” Chakotay jumped in, Kathryn turned to him and lipped “Thank you.” He just shook his head and smiled.

The alien seemed to think about this offer for some time before saying, “What are you in the market for?” 

Chakotay took in a deep breath, “Labor, during our travels we have lost many crewmembers and we need people to refill those spots.”

“I think we have something like that,” He said, after some time, “What do  _ you _ have to offer.”

“Can you give me and my colleagues some time to confer?”

“Yes.”

Harry pulled the communication off the screen. 

“Where are you going with this?” Kathryn asked.

“When he lowers the shield to trade we can transport Seven over here and get out fast.”

“Good,” Kathryn nodded, “Tom, set the course for home, be ready to go, warp 7.” 

“Yes, captain.” 

“Harry, continue the communication.”

“So,” Chakotay said when the alien was back on screen, “I think that we have a torpedo launcher to spare. But before that happens I want to inspect the merchandise.” 

The alien thought over his words before letting out something near to a sigh, “You can beam over, but bring the torpedo launcher with you.”

“Yes, sir.” The communication went down and so did the other ship’s shields. 

Harry got to work, furiously typing on his screen. Within seconds he had located Seven’s bio signal then he got to work transporting her over here. He started to beam her over, “I’ve got her pattern,” He says as she starts to materialize. 

“Go, Tom!” 

 

After a visit to the Doctor, Seven and Kathryn retired to Kathryn’s quarters. At this point, they didn’t care who noticed or saw. 

Kathryn wrapped her arms around the back of Seven’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss. And then another and another. 


	4. Chapter 4

B’Elanna had been having a rough day, to the point that the only light of her day was this lunch break. 

She gripped the tray of food with white knuckles as she walked up to a table seating Chakotay, Tom, and Harry. 

She took a seat, dropping her tray to the table. 

“Hey,” Tom exclaimed, putting a hand on her arm, “What’s up with you.” 

“Engineering is full of idiots,” She sighed in disdain while picking up a fork to get started on her meal.

“Including yourself?” Tom asked, sounding almost completely sincere. 

“Shut up,” She replied, with a playful punch to the shoulder. 

“Both of you shut up,” Chakotay said, smile beaming on his face, “I have an idea for a bet.”

“Let’s hear it,” Harry said. 

“We all take bets on how long and how far Kathryn will go to hide her relationship with Seven from us.” Chakotay smiled a devious smile. 

“I’m not taking part in this,” Harry said, letting out a sigh.

“Oh, I will,” Tom said, “I bet she’ll be done by the end of this week.”

“That’s cutting it pretty soon,” B’Elanna said, “What makes you so sure?” 

Tom sighed and deeply thought about the question, only moving once he heard the door swish open, “This.” A wicked smile grew on his face as he stood up and moved to greet the two new people in the mess hall.

“Captain,” Tom greeted, “Seven.”

“Hello, Tom,” Kathryn said pleasantly. 

“Hello,” Seven replied. 

“Would you guys like to join us?” Tom asked, turning outwards and throwing his hand out to gesture to their table. Chakotay waved a hand at them.

“No, thanks,” Kathryn answered, smiling and waving a hand back to Chakotay, “Me and Seven have a game of Velocity waiting.”

“Oh,” Tom shrugged, “What if we all went? Made it into a tournament?” 

Kathryn’s eyes went wide as they darted over to Seven. She quickly recovered and said, “I don’t see why not.” 

 

“They know,” Kathryn sighed. She crossed the living area of her quarters, coming to a stop at the couch. She collapsed into it, leaning forward, putting her elbows on her knees. 

“Kathryn,” Seven replied, walking to the couch. She sat down right next to Kathryn, but didn't match her leaned forward style, “They could not know.”

“Tom called us ‘lovebirds’!” Kathryn said, throwing out her hand to punctuate the sentence. 

“Tom is fond of jokes,” Seven reasoned. 

“Seven, they kept whispering and laughing. Like they had a secret,” Kathryn replied, “They know.” 

“What does it change if they do?”

“Well, considering the fact that this," she pointed back and forth to the both of them, "Isn’t allowed, I would say a lot.” 

“There is nothing that they could do about it even if they did have a problem with it.”

“I don’t know,” Kathryn sighed, “I just don’t want to leave our relationship in their hands.”

Seven wrapped an around Kathryn’s shoulders and pulled her in closer as they laid back in the couch. Kathryn dropped her head to Seven’s shoulder and let out a deep breath.

“Hey,” Kathryn said after a while.

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was just a filler chapter.   
> Things start getting fun next chapter, it'll definitely be a two-parter.
> 
> Thanks for reading and let's be honest, I'm busy and done, leave comments if you want this to continue. The comments remind me that my writing is good and that you actually want to hear my stories, so yeah.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry this was late and short, but I'll be picking up the story again and I'll complete it

Kathryn and Seven were laying in bed with each other. They were both looking each other in the eye. Kathryn had a slight smile on her face. In one hand their fingers were entwined and with her other hand, she had pulled Seven closer by the waist. 

“We need to have more mornings like this,” Kathryn sighed. 

“We do,” Seven agreed, her breath bringing chills up and down Kathyn’s spine. She loved it.

“You should stay over more often.”

“Says the same person worried about others finding out about us just last night,” Seven said with the quick of an eyebrow.

“I was a... little worried last night,” Kathryn conceded. 

“A little?” Seven scoffed, “I was under the impression that was a panic attack.”

“Fine,” Kathryn sighed, “Maybe I was a little panicked, but that doesn’t mean I could have changed my mind.”

“Did you?”

Kathryn thought hard about what she was going to say before realizing Seven had a point, “No,” She sighed. 

“As I expected,” Seven replied, her own version of a smile appearing, “And while we’re talking about it,” Seven continued, “How would you like me to leave inconspicuously?” 

“Mmmmmh,” Kathryn hummed, “You can’t leave conspicuously if you don’t leave at all.” She pulled Seven closer and held onto her tighter. Seven wrapped her arms around Kathryn’s neck. 

“I believe that would be even more conspicuous, Kathryn,” Seven replied. She opened her mouth to say something more but was cut off by a flash of light. 

Kathryn jumped up, pulling the blankets up around both her and Seven, she didn’t even try to curb the pure rage that started to consume her as he eye came in contact with Q. 

“I see you’ve found someone to replace me,” Q said with the jump of his eyebrows. He stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed. 

“I did not-” Q opened his mouth to argue back, but Kathryn held up her index finger to pause him, “You can’t replace something that was never there.” 

“So that’s how you see me?” Q asked, whether he was honestly offended or if he was just mocking it, Kathryn couldn’t tell or care for. 

“Why are you here?” She asked, ignoring his question. 

“I have a slight problem.” 

“Not now, Q,” Kathryn replied, not sure how to get out of this situation, considering her clothes were a little too far away. 

“Oh, come on,” Q whined, “The faster you help, the faster I’m out of your hair.” 

“Fine…” Kathryn sighed, regretting the decision before she even had time to think, “What’s wrong.” 

“The Q Continuum… We’re breaking down into factions. There’s going to be a war. I need a favor, someone to represent my side.” 

“Why me?” 

“The Q Continuum doesn’t consider Jean-Luc to be an unbiased witness, something about us having a too close history.” 

“And I’m not considered too close?”

“I haven’t slept with you, have I?”

“You’ve slept with Captain Picard?”

“Sort of, not really… it’s a long story.” 

“What?” 

“We shared a bed, once, and the other Q aren’t able to tell how far it went because it was in an alternate timeline.”

Kathryn opened her mouth to something, but she had no words left to say. 

“Yeah, as I said, long story, but can you be a witness?”

“A witness for what, exactly?”

“The goodness of the Q.” 

Kathryn couldn’t help but laugh, “Goodness?”

And Q’s face went from hopeful to upset, “Really?”

“What goodness? You on multiple occasions have tried seducing me, you insult my people, goad my crewmembers and dumped your child here without a care in the world. Tell me how any of that is good?”

“Well,” Q sighed, struggling to find the correct words, “Maybe if you met other Q?” 

“No.” 

“And it will sit well with your consciousness, knowing you’ve doomed an entire race to destruction?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you think I’m fighting, Katy?” 

“People want you…”

“Dead. Yes. And not people, no the Q. A faction of Q thinks we’ve been around too long, that we should just stop existing. And if we lose to them then it’s what’ll happen. I’m willing to win, with or without your help, but a good word will go a long way,” Q shook his head. 

“And what do I get if I help you?” 

“A clear conscience.”

“How about you promise to leave my crew alone.”

Q contemplated the offer, “Fine. Will you help me?”

“Yes.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry to do this, but I'm putting this story on pause. Right now I'm working on a novella and I don't want to take attention away from it. The minute it's finished I'll be coming back here and updating this to the end. I'm sorry but I promise this isn't permanent.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finished my novella! And I'm back. This is the second to last chapter, the final chapter will be out at the latest in two weeks! Please leave comments!

“I do not think it is wise to help him,” Seven sighed as she watched Kathryn down a cup of coffee, “All you are doing is reinforcing the idea that he can depend on you.”

“If people like the Vulcans or the Klingons were insisting upon their own destruction I would intervene. I will not sit idly by as a group of people try to kill themselves.”

“You have diplomatic relations with the Klingons and the Vulcans, I do not believe that is a fair comparison.” Seven gave her a pointed look, with an arched eyebrow.

“That is beside the point,” Kathryn shook her head, “While he has been a bother to me, he has helped Captain Picard on a couple of occasions. I’m going to alert the staff of the situation and then spend the rest of the day reading up on Captain Picard’s experience with Q. Hopefully, I’ll find something very convincing.”

“I want to go with you,” Seven said, very quickly, “When you go with Q.”

“Why?” Kathryn asked, standing up after finishing off her coffee.

“I don’t trust him.”

“It’ll be very conspicuous,” Kathryn said, “If I choose you over my first officer.” She slowly got closer to Seven.

“I’m sure he is busy.” Seven wrapped her arms around Kathryn and quirked the corner of her lips up into a smile which Kathryn returned.

“I love you,” Kathryn said, planting a small kiss on Seven’s lips as she rested her arms on the back of her neck.

“I love you too.”

 

 “Wait,” Tom asked, a knowing look on his face, “Janeway and Seven are going alone to ‘meet up with Q’.”

“I’ll give them props,” B’Elanna shrugged, “They’re getting very creative with their excuses.”

“Oh, stop it with this!” Harry said, “Q was literally there this morning, besides, this isn’t the first time the Q have been undecided, it’s happened before. To say that that was fake was completely ridiculous.”

“Hologram,” Tom said.

“Oh come on,” Chakotay shook his head, he had been quiet up until that moment, “That’s completely ridiculous.”  
“Finally,” Harry sighed, “Someone who agrees with me.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Q is real. And, did anyone notice how she picked Seven over me, her first officer to go on that mission.”

“Why didn’t you fight her on the decision?”

“Well, one I can not stand Q. And, second, I don’t want to be the one that gets in between that couple. Do you remember when Seven’s cortical node shut down? Well right before that happened Seven and Kathryn were spending an awful a lot of time together and right after that they stopped being around each other. Do you remember how depressed they got? Well, I don’t think it’s healthy how dependent they are on each other but I don’t think the Seven would be able to work with Kathryn too far away so I figured this was better.”

“Well,” Tom said, “I still think Q was a hologram.”

 

Kathryn walked hand in hand with Seven. They were in what looked to be a courtroom but they knew that really they were somewhere else. It was nice to finally be in an expressive relationship without having to worry about who might see them and how that would affect things. It was nice to relax.

“I wish we could spend our off hours like this,” Kathryn sighed.

“We can in the holodeck.”

“No, I want to walk out in the open, on the ship, without drowning in anxiety.”

“Then we should disclose our relationship.”

“You know we can’t.”

“I am aware of your beliefs, however, I believe that the crew would be okay with it.”

“And what happens when we get back home?” Kathryn asked, her voice growing in intensity, “They’ll transfer you off Voyager, do you remember how uncomfortable everyone was with you when you first joined? Imagine that but without me. I’m afraid of what will happen to you.”

“I will be fine, I will be with you,” Seven said.

“Not physically.”

“I am sure we can make time for physical-”

“That is not what I meant,” Kathryn replied frantically a stripe of red burning across her features.

“Oh.”

“Look, our relationship could get us into serious trouble.”

“How long do you expect us to keep it hidden? I am not good with fallacies and I do not think we can have a successful or thriving relationship while it is being kept a secret.”

“I’m not saying it is a permanent solution but until we think of something better they can not know.”

“Okay.”

 

“Look,” Harry sighed, irritated by the futile search, “There is only one holographic reading coming from the ready room earlier this morning, and it the Doctor. And even more,” Harry said, pausing as he typed some things in, “We should be able to see a-” He paused, “That’s weird… All the sensors for the Captain Quarters this morning at the time she said that Q showed up…”

“Hmm,” Tom says with a knowing smile. They were standing around ops on the bridge, which was basically silent so they had to keep their voices down.

“Pull up the sensor readings for the cargo bay,” B’Elanna said, raising her eyebrows.

Harry didn’t say anything, nor did he know what to say when he found that cargo bay two was empty, “Computer, where was Seven of Nine at 0812?”

“Seven of Nine’s exact location could not be determined.”

“Where was she when you could place her location?”

“Outside of the Captain’s quarters.”

“So, she likes to visit the Captain’s quarters, it means nothing,” Harry reasoned.

Tom shook his head and sighed, “How long was Seven of Nine’s location unidentifiable?” He had pushed pass Harry.

“Since 2000 the previous night.”

“Was anyone with her when her location became unidentifiable?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Captain Janeway.”

  


“Did my testimony help?” Kathryn asked.

“Oh, who knows,” Q sighed, “Only time will tell?”

“I thought you were omnipotent.”

“Omnipotence has its limits when you are surrounded by other omnipotent people. Besides, if we could control each other then the Q Continuum would have collapsed years ago.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, we had a deal and I surely hope that you will keep true to your word,” Kathryn replied, the irritation very clear in her voice, “Now, please take us back to my ship.”

“Okay,” Q threw up his hands in mock offense, before snapping his fingers and transporting them back to the bridge.

It was perfectly timed to because the snooping group hadn’t yet disbanded. Tom looked from Kathryn and Seven and smiled knowingly.

“See, not a hologram,” Harry said, near distressed.

“What?” Kathryn asked it was interesting, to say the least, to hear that first thing after teleporting.

“Oh, um nothing, Captain,” Harry said, getting red in the face.

Q ignored what he considered unimportant babbling and got straight to the point, “I am eternally grateful for your help, I owe you a favor.”

“No,” Kathryn jumped, not wanting there to be any miscommunications, “You owe me nothing, you do not need to repay a favor. Or, if you feel the need to see to that favor you could simply leave me and my crew alone forever. That would be the only acceptable way to pay back that favor.”

“You wound me.”

“I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?” Q said, “I could take you and your girlfriend on a date anywhere in the gala-” His voice faded off as he saw how wide Kathryn’s eyes got. How enraged she looked, “Or maybe not,” He said, he looked down to an invisible watch, “Um- my my my, look a the time, I really should be going.” He snapped and left.

Kathryn took in a painfully deep breath, unsure of how the crew was going to handle the news. She slowly turned around, standing next to Seven who had already turned to face the bridge crew.

“Well,” Kathryn said, letting out the breath slowly, “I assume you heard what he said.”

Tom put a hand to the back of his neck before giving a very pained, “Yeah.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

Tom nodded, as did Harry and B’Elanna.

“Well, it’s true,” She reached for Seven’s hand and laced their fingers together, as she held up their hands, “We are dating.”

Tom sort of chuckled before saying, “Yeah, we, um, know.”

“You knew?” Kathryn said, red staining her face.

“We’re not blind,” B’Elanna said, “You guys don’t keep a low-profile with your affection.”

“Duly noted. Well, dismissed." Kathryn waited for a second as they awkwardly disbanded before rushing off the bridge, her and Seven’s hand unclasping, but Seven still followed after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Kathryn took Seven of Nine’s hand in hers, “Follow me,” She said, a smile crossing her face. 

“Where are we going?” Seven of Nine asked, her variation of a smile gracing her face.

“You’ll see,” Kathryn said with the rise of her eyebrows. They strolled down the hallways of Voyager, Kathryn excited and nervous, slightly shaking, Seven happily following filled with curiosity.

She led them until they came to a stop outside the mess hall. 

“Here we had our first kiss,” Kathryn said, “I was so embarrassed I ran to my quarters and started crying. Then you visited me and kissed me back.”

“I remember.”

“Then, we were stuck on this turbo lift,” Kathryn said, continuing to lead her down the hall, “There you said that you loved me.” 

She continued their walk down to her quarters, “Here you spent the night for the first time and I had a panic attack in the morning.”

“When did you not?”

“Hey,” Kathryn pushed Seven on the shoulder, “Anyway.” They continued to walk and came to the holodeck.

“We had so many dates here,” Kathryn said, memories clear on her face, “Including our first date. Stargazing.”

She walked back to the sickbay, “Here I spent the worst moment of my entire life.”

Back to her quarters, “Here you found me after your cortical node fail-safe was fixed and we could be together and I vowed I would never lose you again.”

“Only to lose me a month later,” Seven quipped.

“I found you didn’t I?” Kathryn said.

“Yes, you did.”

“I am so sorry and I haven’t forgiven myself about that, by the way,” Kathryn said, before letting out a sigh, “But here, after the painting with balloons date, we came back here and…” Kathryn gave a nod with a shy smile.

“Consummated our relationship,” Seven of Nine said so matter of factly. 

Kathryn couldn’t help but turn the color of the Klingon flag, “Yes.”

“One last stop,” Kathryn said, leading her and Seven to the bridge.

They left the turbolift looking only slightly disheveled, to meet the bridge crew standing in a circle with happy eyes and wide smiles. Kathryn pulled Seven by the hand to the middle of the group. 

“Seven,” Kathryn said, “I love you so much. It may be unhealthy. And I can’t imagine any other person I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. So,” She got down on one knee, “Would you do me the honor of marrying me.” She pulled out a tiny box and opened it to a ring.

“Say yes,” The circle whisper chanted.

Seven gave a humored side eye to them before looking back down to Kathryn, the biggest smile she ever had on her face, “Yes.”

 

Kathryn stood in front of their friends in a beautiful tux and Seven stood across from her in a stunning white dress. They held their hands together. The breeze cooled down their guests and filled the area with the sound of rustling leaves. In the distance, they could see the barn where the reception would be held.

Chakotay stood in between the couple, “I believe that you have written your own vows.”

“Today marks the first day for the rest of my life,” Kathryn said, “Because every moment before this one led me here. Every moment before now was nothing compared to the moments I will have with you. Seven, I love you and I am so unbelievably lucky to have you. I will protect until I can’t anymore. I will help you with all your struggles. I will love you forever.”

“Kathryn, when I met you I thought you were a ridiculous, crazy human. In fact, I still think you are a ridiculous, crazy human. But because of you, I have a family. I have come to terms with my failings and my imperfections because of you. You have helped me become who I am. You have helped to better me, to protect me, to save me. You put faith in me when no one else would. Kathryn, only a ridiculous, crazy human would do that. I love you and I endeavor to take care of you, love you and protect you until I cannot anymore.”

“By the power vested in me I pronounce you wives, you make kiss the bride.”

Kathryn put her hands on Seven’s neck pulling her closer into a kiss while Seven’s hand rested on Kathryn’s forearm. Their world faded into nothing as the electricity surrounded them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this fic until the end and I'm sorry for such a long hiatus. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
